


Upwardly Mobile

by keysmash



Category: Supernatural RPF
Genre: Alternate Universe, Injury, M/M, thieves
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2010-01-11
Updated: 2010-01-11
Packaged: 2017-10-06 03:44:24
Rating: Mature
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 6,703
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/49313
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/keysmash/pseuds/keysmash
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Jared, a thief in trouble with his boss, tries to get his life back where he wants it.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Upwardly Mobile

**Author's Note:**

  * For [short_hemline](https://archiveofourown.org/gifts?recipient=short_hemline).



> For [](http://short-hemline.livejournal.com/profile)[**short_hemline**](http://short-hemline.livejournal.com/), for [](http://community.livejournal.com/spn_j2_xmas/profile)[**spn_j2_xmas**](http://community.livejournal.com/spn_j2_xmas/), touching upon the prompts _UST, shy!Jensen, hurt/comfort, Jensen's freckles,_ and _any AU_. Awesome beta by [](http://boom-queen.livejournal.com/profile)[**boom_queen**](http://boom-queen.livejournal.com/), and loads of brainstorming help from [](http://loolookitty.livejournal.com/profile)[**loolookitty**](http://loolookitty.livejournal.com/).

Jared spread the floor plans across the table and stood back. In the light from the single bulb hanging over the table, the only lamp in the darkened room, the paper stood out starkly against the particle board. Jensen glanced up at him, eyebrows raised, before resting his hands at the edge of the table and leaning over. Jared watched his eyes move as he took in the building's layout — it was well-designed, with a state-of-the-art security system that the owners actually used —, and then Jensen scoffed and looked up at Jared.

"You're trying to sell me this as a two-man job?" he asked. His eyebrows were just as high as they had been a moment ago. "Really?"

"Sure," Jared said. He shrugged and flipped back the top sheet. The next page showed the layout of the roof, and Jared watched Jensen's face as he took in the ventilation system.

"Okay, point, whatever," he said, and shrugged. "It's still not gonna be easy to get in there — they've gotta have someone guarding it in person. I've never seen anything worth this much that didn't have a flesh and blood guard somewhere around."

"I'm taking care of that part."

Jensen just kept staring at him. "And I wanna know how," he said. "Especially seeing as how it's gonna be me waiting on the roof for you to get it done."

Jared shrugged and pulled one of the chairs from under the table. He and Jensen usually loomed at each other from opposite ends of the furniture when they talked through their plans, and he didn't know why. Especially on involved jobs, like this one was wrapping up to be, it was so much better to rest a little, put your feet up. Jared swung his feet into the chair on the other side of the table once he sat and pushed it out, so it bumped against Jensen's legs. Jensen glared at him but took the hint and sat down.

"I've been working the neighborhood for the past few months," he said, and drew his legs back to his own side of the table. "Ever since we moved to the area, and I figured we worked pretty well together."

"You almost got us busted at our first job here," Jensen said. "How the hell is that working well together?"

"Cuz we didn't get busted," Jared said. "Anyway, I've been walking the dogs around the area for a while now, around the same time our marks here are out walking _their_ dogs."

"Don't say mark. No one actually does that. It makes you sound like a tool."

"They know me on sight by now," he continued, "so I'm gonna stop by their house at the time with some emergency, distract everyone enough that you can get in and out, and then we'll be good to go."

Jensen stared at him. Jared leaned back in his chair and crossed his arms over his chest, and Jensen just kept on looking. "What the hell sort of emergency are you going to come up with that'll get their security detail out of the way?"

"Right now, I'm thinking head wound."

"Head wound."

"Not a big one or anything," he said. "It'd be easy to fake — it'll bleed a lot and look worse than it is, and they'll want to help but not do it themselves, so they'll call the security guy away, and ta da, bird in the palm."

"Your plan revolves around a fake head-wound," he repeated.

"You'll be inside, though," Jared said. Jensen looked up sharply and caught Jared's gaze, but instead of turning it into a joke, they just stared at each other for a moment. Eventually Jared made himself turn away and get business out of the way. "We're running out of time before we gotta get this delivered, man, and I'd rather pretend-slice myself up than have Andrews's guys do it to me for real."

Jensen sighed and shook his head slowly. He pulled the top sheet over and studied the first page again. "How much time can you get me?" he asked eventually. Jared grinned, tipped his chair back onto two legs, and kept talking.

It was weird afterwards, when they both had to stand up before they could tidy things up, but it wasn't too bad. Jensen stuck his scribbled-upon Post-Its in neat lines over blank pieces of paper and then filed it all away in a series of manilla folders while Jared swept all his notes onto the floor plans and then rolled them away. Jensen winced slightly.

"Don't crinkle those up too badly before you get me scans of them," he said.

"Going to Kinko's for it tomorrow," Jared said. He bopped Jensen on top of the head and then turned on the overhead light as he headed from the corner of his apartment, optimistically named a dining room, to the kitchen. He opened the fridge with one hand while he tossed his roll of paper on the counter and held the door open to Jensen. "I've got beer and leftover pizza, or we could go out?"

Jensen stayed by the table, still straightening his stuff. "How old's the pizza?"

"Lunch yesterday."

"Works for me," he said. Jared grabbed the box and a few cans of beer and passed Jensen on his way to the living room. He could hear Jensen finishing up stowing all his gear before he followed. Sadie looked up from where she and Harley had been napping on the floor, but she put her head back down after a moment. Jensen sank down on the love seat next to Jared, close enough that Jared could balance the pizza on both of their knees, and handed the remote over when Jared held out one hand and snapped for it.

.

He knocked on Jensen's door two days later with a basket under one arm and a six-pack in the other hand. He had to wait longer than made him comfortable for Jensen to come to the door, and when he finally did answer, he just stared at Jared without inviting him in, or even opening the door all the way.

"I didn't know we had a meeting today," Jensen said after frowning at him for a moment.

"We don't," Jared said, and forced a grin. He held up the beer in between the two of them and waved it a little. "I was wondering if I could have a favor."

"You couldn't have called first?"

"Phone died last night, and it's still charging. I forgot about it until I was halfway over here."

"You came over without calling."

"I meant to call!" Jared took a deep breath and shook his head. "Look, I was wondering if I could use your washing machine?"

Jensen opened the door a little wider and glanced at the laundry under Jared's other arm. "Are you serious?"

"The machine in my building's broken, and I figured I should do a load before the job." He shrugged and looked pointedly at the basket. He'd layered his best things, a stylishly ripped pair of jeans and a designer button-down, on the top, where Jensen could see them, and hopefully recognize them as part of his get-up for the next day's con. His other stuff, underwear and day-to-day t-shirts, was hidden underneath.

Jensen stared at him for a moment, long enough that Jared wondered if maybe he had somebody over, and then backed up and held the door open. "I never should have let you know I had my own machines," he said.

Jared smiled at him on his way inside. "I really appreciate it," he said.

"Uh huh." Jensen plucked the beer from his fingers and headed to the kitchen with it while Jared stayed, hovering, just inside the front door. He could see Jensen's preparation spread all across the living room floor. The schematics for the mark's house were laid out across the carpet, some covered with highlighter, and a laptop sat in the very middle of the papers, open and humming. Every was laid out at right angles, with neat strips of beige carpet visible all around the edges of the paper, and although Jensen had stepped directly on the papers, Jared didn't want to.

"You can come on in," Jensen called from the kitchen. Jared heard the fridge open and then shut again, and he took a few steps inside. Paper crinkled underfoot but Jensen didn't come rushing out after him, so he walked a little further until he stood in the doorway between Jensen's living room and tiny kitchen. He held his basket up out of the way as he headed inside, towards the laundry setup tucked into the utility room beyond the fridge, but there wasn't much room. He wound up with Jensen pressed close up against him as they passed each other, going opposite directions. Jensen looked up at him for a moment and then quickly away. Jared thought he was flushing under his freckles, but he hadn't gotten a good enough glimpse to really tell.

"You know where everything is," Jensen said over his shoulder, heading back to the living room. Paper whispered around for a second and then fell silent again.

Jared had to arrange things very precisely to get everything tucked into the utility room. Between a vacuum cleaner, a collection of mops and brooms, several multicolored lengths of rope in various diameters, a stepladder, and something that Jared hoped was a sex-swing even though it was probably a more boring sort of harness, there was hardly room for Jared to stand in front of Jensen's washer and dryer. Jared kept the basket propped against his hip as he loaded up the washer with the first load — just the fancy stuff, with the jeans turned inside out and the shirt in a mesh lingerie bag — and then left the rest of his clothes on top of the dryer as he turned it on.

He dug in the fridge for one of his beers and carried it back to the living room with him. He found Jensen lying on top of his work, crinkling the paper slightly under his weight, and tapping one-handed at his laptop. He had a ballpoint pen clutched between his teeth and his shirt had ridden up a little. Jared stared at the strip of skin visible just above the hem of his pants, the small of his back looking smooth and untouched, and then cleared his throat and looked away.

Jensen turned his face slightly towards Jared and hummed questioningly.

"Can I come in, or do you need quiet?"

He drummed the fingers of one hand over the keys. "Yes and yes," he said eventually. "You can sit, just don't talk. Or touch anything. Or make a mess."

Jared snorted and crossed to the couch. Jensen had two brightly-colored throw pillows that didn't match the rest of the furniture, bright green damask on a white background, and Jared stacked them up before laying his head down and stretching out as much as he could. He set his beer down carefully on the floor next to him and closed his eyes. He could hear the washer churning in the other room, the occasional scritch of Jensen's pen or clack of his keys, and, all around them, the quiet noises of the rest of the apartment building as Jensen's neighbors went about their days. Jared folded his hands over his breastbone and let himself doze.

.

"You've got your phone, right?" Jared asked, as he rolled down his window and pulled up to the keypad connected to the community's entry gates. Jensen huffed next to him and patted a pocket on the side of his pants without otherwise answering.

Jared punched in the combination and pulled forward slightly as the gates swung open. He took them down about a quarter of a mile of winding road, passing through densely wooded areas cared for by the homeowner's association, before they started passing houses. Everything was set back far from the street and Jared drove just over the posted speed limits as he headed for the park at the rear of the complex. In the back seat, Sadie barked once before falling silent again.

"She recognizes it?" Jensen asked.

He nodded. "I've brought them here often enough that she knows what's coming."

Jensen cast him a look, both eyebrows raised high, and Jared snorted and rolled his eyes. "She knows as much as she needs to, anyway," he amended.

"She'd not gonna pee on the carpet and get you kicked out before I finish or something, is she?"

"She knows well enough how to behave." Jared slowed his car when they reached the park and stopped by the side of the road, under a tree. Sadie hopped up and whined at the door when he cut off the engine and Jared reached backwards without looking to pat her flank a few times.

Jensen just watched Jared as he leaned over and took a knife out of the glovebox. Jared flipped it open and turned it to the side, eying the blade, before closing it again and laying it down in his lap. He tilted his head to the side and parting his hair out of the way above one ear. He heard Jensen's throat click as he swallowed, and then he leaned forward to peer at Jared's head.

"You sure you don't want me to do it for you?" he said. "I don't want you to cut your ear off or something."

"No," Jared said. He swallowed hard himself as Jensen shifted up and took something out of his pocket — an alcohol swab. "You'll need more time to get in place than I want to let this bleed."

Jensen snorted as he ripped open the packet and carefully unfolded the towel. "I still think this is a bad idea." He leaned forward, even closer, and his breath ghosted hot over Jared's cheek. Jared stared at him for a moment before glancing away.

"It's the best we've got anyway," Jared said. "Andrews is breathing down our necks hard enough as it is over that last job, and I'd rather jump through a few hoops for this than give him a reason to come after us again."

"Be quiet for a second," Jensen said, and Jared did. Jensen carefully brushed his fingertips over Jared's head, over the rarely-touched and sensitive skin above one ear, and then followed his fingers with the damp chill of the alcohol. Jared shivered and tried to hold still. Jensen put his other hand on Jared's shoulder, firm and unmoving, and held him in place as he wiped the towel over Jared again.

"There," he said eventually, and settled back into his own seat. Jared kept his head tilted to try and keep his hair off the skin, and watched from an angle as Jensen balled up the towelette and put it back into the glove box. He was wearing what Jared had come to think of as his people-are-going-to-see-him job gear — black shirt and cargo jeans, with a thick black belt that hid tiny tools under the leather — and he patted himself down quietly before nodding and putting one hand on his door handle.

"I'll be in place in six and a half minutes," he said, even though they'd discussed the details over and over during the past few days. Maybe he figured Jared could use the reminder before the upcoming head wound.

"I've got your text already typed out," Jared replied anyway, going along with it. "I'll send it once I'm in place."

"Don't forget," Jensen said. He leaned over the seat to scratch Sadie once between her ears, then shot Jared a smile, tight around the lips but crinkly around the eyes, before getting out of the car. He headed for the tree cover at the back of the park without looking behind him. Jared set the timer on his phone once Jensen disappeared into the brush and settled in to wait.

He ran one thumb over the back of the closed knife a few times and drummed the fingers of the other hand over the steering wheel. When Sadie whined, he reached over and patted the empty passenger seat. She hopped into it and nudged him once in the shoulder. He rubbed the back of her neck and was glad he'd decided just to bring her; both dogs would have been too much.

The park was empty this time of day, just like always. When his phone buzzed as the timer went off, Jared leaned over the steering wheel to cut himself, hopefully superficially but still enough that he'd get blood all over the place, without worrying that anyone would see.

.

Jared's phone beeped in his pocket, and this time he took it out to check the message. If everything had gone right, and of course it had, then this was Jensen coming to get him. This was nothing the owners couldn't see him check, and sure enough, the screen showed _coming — sent from: ACKLES_.

"My buddy's on the way," he said, and smiled up at Cynthia, the wife, where she stood across the island, leaning backwards against a gleaming granite countertop with one hand at her throat. A drop of Jared's blood had sunk into her blouse, not that he thought she'd noticed yet, and it shone wetly under the skylights.

"Good," she said. "I'm glad — I still think one of use should have driven you to the emergency room, though." She glanced at the bloody dish towel crumpled in front of Jared, on a bowl on the kitchen table, and then at the fresh towel he held over his ear. "Mark's off duty, I'm sure he could have called it in and not gotten pulled over or anything if he'd taken you."

Mark, the rentacop, frowned a little from the other side of the table. He'd taken care to keep himself between Cynthia and both Jared and Sadie since she'd let them inside, and Jared wasn't doing anything to make Mark think he was trouble.

"It wouldn't work exactly that way," Mark said, "but she's right, man. You should have let me at least get a decent dressing on that."

He'd snapped on latex gloves when he saw all the blood, and he'd done his level best to keep Cynthia away from that, as well. Jared almost felt bad that he was getting this guy fired — but hey, at least he had a day job. And if he couldn't keep two down-on-their-luck crooks from getting into the only room in the house he was supposed to be watching, then that was his own damn fault.

"I can't tell you how much I appreciate you helping me out," Jared said, finding a smile for Cynthia instead of answering Mark. It made his head throb a little and he pressed the towel harder against the cut. "I don't know what I would have done otherwise."

"What else could I have done?" she asked, and stepped a little closer to lean her elbows on the island itself. Mark sat up straighter and so Jared leaned back in his own chair, away from her. "I've been meaning to stop and get to know you now for months, but, with the dogs —"

"There's never a good time, is there?" Jared finished for her. "I hate that this is how it finally happened."

"Oh, I do, too," she said, and bit her lip. "Are you _sure_ I can't get you another shirt or something? Yours is just —" She waved one hand at him.

Jared looked down and winced, then shook his head. "I'd just get it messy, too," he said. "And that's not even mentioning how hard it'd be to actually change. I'm glad this one has buttons, so I can get it off easy."

"I'm sure I could go find something, though," Cynthia said. Jared was only spared having to come up with another denial by his phone buzzing again, just as Sadie sat up and whined.

_out front — sent from: ACKLES_

"Here he is, outside," Jared said, and pushed himself to his feet with one hand on the table. He swayed a little on his own, without having to pretend at all, and although Cynthia stepped towards him, Mark beat her to Jared's side.

"Here you go," he said, and grabbed Jared's arm to sling over his shoulders. Sadie led the way towards the front door, running at full speed, and Jared wondered if she was always this excited to recognize his engine idling outside.

They found Jensen at the front door, about to ring the bell and looking no worse for the wear. He widened his eyes convincingly when he saw Jared and stepped forward quickly, to wrap an arm around his waist.

"Holy crap, I didn't know it was this bad," he said. Jared didn't actually put any of his weight on Jensen, so Mark came with them as they headed towards the car.

"It was a really big rock," Jared said. He waved his free hand around and then clutched awkwardly at Jensen's side with it, gripping his shirt. The fabric, which clung close to his body, was warm, and Jared was glad for the excuse to hold on to him. "I hit it straight on."

"Uh huh." Jensen dug the keys out of his pocket and led them to the passenger side to let Jared into his own car. "Can you sit in the front or do you need to lie down?"

"He should sit," Mark said, "if he can. Keep it elevated."

"Cool," Jared said. He let them lower him into the seat and then closed his eyes as Sadie clambered over him into the back.

"Call and let us know you're alright!" Cynthia called, from where she'd stayed in the doorway. Jared raised a hand and waved at her.

"Thanks again, guys," he heard Jensen say, after he let himself into the driver's seat. The engine started with a roar — he'd given it too much gas — and Jared couldn't make out Mark's response. The guy slapped the roof of the car, though, and Jared waved in his direction as well before Jensen took them out of there.

He sat up straighter and opened his eyes once they turned the corner, and as soon as they were about a mile out of the neighborhood, Jensen pulled over to the side of the road to patch Jared up. He got after him with another towelette. This one stung instead of being refreshingly cool, but Jared stayed just as still for it. Jensen held his gaze for a long, solemn moment before tilting Jared's head away and putting a row of tiny butterfly bandages over the slice.

"You didn't let whatshisface see the cut, did you?" he asked.

"Nope," Jared said. "He kept trying but I didn't. Told him it was a rock, that I fell and hit a rock."

"Uh huh," Jensen said. He rubbed his thumb above the cut and Jared hissed, then Jensen pulled back. "You're more out of it than you should be."

"Adrenaline," Jared said. He smiled at Jensen, and Jensen grinned back. "We better get going."

"Yeah," Jensen said, but he stayed where he was for another few seconds anyway, holding Jared's skull in the curve of his hand. When he finally turned back and put the car into gear again, Jared saw that his fingers were stained with his blood.

.

Jared woke up with Jensen still driving. He hadn't even been aware of falling asleep, and he realized he must have crashed harder than he'd been expecting. His head hurt, obviously, and he wished they'd thought to bring some pain-killers with them.

Jensen was on the phone, he realized after a moment, driving with one hand and speaking short sentences in a low voice. Jared tried to figure out who he was talking to but spent lots of time lost.

"We can bring it whenever you like," he said. Jared rearranged a little in his seat so he could watch Jensen. The new angle took all the weight of his head off his cut, and he sighed in relief. Jensen glanced over and gave Jared a small smile before turning back to the road. His cheeks were flushed again and Jared couldn't make sense of that, either.

"Of course," Jensen said after a pause. "I made — it's in a case, in the trunk. It's perfectly safe."

He frowned a little as they stopped at a red light, and it finally clicked for Jared — he was talking to Andrews, or more likely, whoever Andrews had assigned to deal with them. Jared normally handled this part, and he frowned at having made Jensen do it this time.

"Sure," Jensen said. He glanced out each window and flipped his blinker. When no other cars pulled up beside them, he swung the car over and moved them into a different lane. "We're on our way now."

He blinked a few times after closing his phone, then let it fall into his lap and turned the car onto the access road for the freeway.

"We're dropping it now," he said, "at the airport."

"You should have woken me up," Jared said. "I'd've talked to em."

"Nothing I can't handle," Jensen said tightly. He glanced at Jared and then wrapped both hands around the steering wheel.

"Course not," Jared said. He blinked to try to wake himself up and looked out the window. "Who're we giving it to?"

"Didn't say," Jensen said, and swallowed audibly.

"Okay," Jared said. He nodded as well and glanced behind him. Sadie was sitting in the center of the seat, looking out the windshield and having a great time, by the look of it. Her tail wagged just a little, smacking against the back of the seat, and Jared grinned before turning back to Jensen. "I think we've worked with most of Andrews's people before now. It's gonna be fine."

Jensen just nodded.

"Okay, first thing you're buying," Jared said. When Jensen glanced over, Jared waggled his eyebrows. "Come on, this job is getting us back in Andrews's good books, _and_ is actually gonna pay off on top of that. You can't tell me you haven't been planning this out."

"New computers," Jensen said after a second. He turned back to the road and smiled. "I've got this little one picked out, that I'll be able to strap to myself and bring on the job with me, and then a new system for home. And some laptops. And some phones."

Jared snorted. "I bet you've got em added to shopping carts on a bunch of online stores already."

"Nothing wrong with that." Jensen's smile widened, and he didn't look away from his driving but he raised his eyebrows. "What about you?"

"Taking my old place off the market," Jared said. "Dogs and I are moving back in tonight."

"What about your lease now?"

He shrugged. "Hell, I can pay to break that, if I need to. I'd rather be out the money than stay there another day."

"It's not that bad."

"It's like 700 square feet. We don't all even fit in there."

Jared meant 'me and the dogs' when he said _we_, but when Jensen glanced over at him, he realized that his current apartment seemed so cramped because there were two big guys in it all the time, on top of two big dogs. He swallowed and looked out the window himself.

"What're you doing with your place?" he asked, and saw Jensen shrug out of the corner of his eyes.

"Dunno yet," he said. "Haven't decided."

"You could," Jared started, then paused and thought about his suggestion again. It still seemed good on the second run-through, and even though he knew part of that was probably the aftermath of the job, he kept going with it anyway. "You can stay with me for a while, if you need. While you figure it out."

Jensen glanced over. "Yeah?"

"Yeah." Jared watched the airport's outbuildings as they drove closer, and when they reached the drop-point — a small parking lot off the designated observation park, where families and aviation buffs and police unsubtly searching for terrorists came to watch the planes take off and land — he glanced over at Jensen. He smiled widely and then turned back to scope out the cars.

"There," Jensen said simply, and pointed to a group of dark mid-level sedans at the edge of the lot. Jared nodded and swallowed as Jensen turned in to meet them. He unbuttoned his bloody shirt and shrugged out of it; his undershirt was stained as well, but since it was dark, the blood wouldn't be as noticeable. They didn't need noticeable right now.

The doors opened while Jensen parked and a group of three tall women in dark suits stepped out, looking like something out of a movie or a photo shoot. None of them held weapons but Jared recognized two of them, who went by Jill and Julie. They were both good with knives, Jill at a distance and Julie up close, and Jared guessed the third was just as competent with something else.

"They're expecting me to do the hand-over," Jensen said. He unlocked the doors but didn't cut off the engine. "You just stand there and intimidate."

Jared wanted to roll his eyes but just got out of the car instead. He unfolded out of his seat slowly, so that he wouldn't wobble, and kept his hands near his pockets — knife in each one, plus a gun tucked into his waistband —, visible but close. Two of the women tracked Jensen as he popped the trunk and took out a small stainless case, and the other kept her eyes firmly on Jared. He smiled at her humorlessly and she returned the gesture but, as the five of them stepped forward to meet between their cars, neither of them stood down.

.

They piled into Jared's tiny apartment, now thankfully temporary, as soon as he unlocked the door. Harley danced around the living room in greeting and Jared laughed as he kneed him out of the way. Sadie yipped as she bounded on in, getting in between Jensen and Jared, and Jensen laughed as well as he came inside. He kicked the door closed behind him, slamming it harder than he should have, but Jared didn't say anything about it. He just continued on to the kitchen, and heard all three of them following.

Jensen stayed close, not that he had much choice in the kitchen, as Jared dug through the cabinet he used as a pantry to look for the last of his stock of painkillers. The cut wasn't near bad enough to deserve what he tapped into his palm and took dry, but he wanted the happy buzz after the day's work. He held the bottle out to Jensen in offering, but although Jensen eyed it for a long time, he shook his head. Instead, he pushed past Jared on his way to the fridge and got them each a beer.

Jared followed him to the living room, to the tiny couch, and plopped down in the middle, to press up against Jensen, instead of even trying to keep some separation between the two of them. The dogs flopped down at their feet. Jared could see the remote on the floor, just in front of the TV itself, but he didn't go get it. Instead, he opened his beer and took a long sip of it, while beside him, Jensen did the same thing.

"I'm thinking about just leaving all this furniture here," Jared said.

Jensen looked around, at the TV on top of the coffee table against the far wall, at the lamp in the corner, at the dog's beds tucked in the entryway. "You don't wanna keep any of it?"

"Some of the stuff in the bedroom, yeah," Jared said, and then shrugged. "But I'd just upgrade all this stuff anyway, so why bother."

Jensen sighed and took a huge drink. Jared leaned closer to him as the medicine started to kick in. He really appreciated how warm Jensen's bare arm felt next to his own, and how firm and solid Jensen seemed all against his thigh and shoulder.

"We should order pizza or something," Jared said, and he felt it through his entire body when Jensen started laughing. "What?"

"You spent the past few minutes just coming up with that?"

"Big decision," Jared said. He elbowed Jensen in the side but didn't move his arm away. Jensen glanced at him. He looked for long enough that Jared turned his own head to meet Jensen's gaze — his eyes were wide, and so green, from this close — but he didn't move away or shove Jared off, either. Jared glanced down at his mouth and so he could see Jensen's throat move when he swallowed.

"Yeah," Jensen said. His voice sounded far off, considering his lips were so close, and Jared could come up with a million excuses for this even in the moment but that didn't stop him from leaning forward and kissing Jensen.

His lips were chapped. He always gnawed on them during a job, and they scratched against Jared's lips as he pressed their mouths together. Jensen's breath hitched slightly and then he shifted to turn and grab Jared by the shirt.

One of the dogs whined but Jared ignored them without even bothering to figure out whoever it was. He opened his mouth and Jensen took the hint. He slid his tongue between Jared's lips and stroked it against Jared's own tongue, and when Jared scrabbled his hands at his side, Jensen went with that, too. He climbed into Jared's lap and sank all the way down, so that his crotch, and his hardening dick, pressed against Jared's belly, and his ass rested heavily on top of Jared's cock. Jared thrust up against him without meaning to as his dick filled, and Jensen pulled back to smirk at him.

The skin of his lips had smoothed back down, wet with spit from both of them, and Jared leaned up to kiss him again before Jensen could say something and make them think about what they were doing.

They put their beers down on the floor because Jared didn't have a side table, but Jensen never climbed out of Jared's lap. He squirmed around to get them both naked enough, to get their messy shirts off and their pants unbuttoned, and the motion just ground him further down on Jared's cock until Jensen rearranged again, and took them both in one hand. Jared lost what was left of his coordination at that and could only lean his forehead against Jensen's breastbone and thrust up into his grip, against the hot skin of Jensen's cock against his own.

Between the two of them, they got come everywhere — on both of their bellies first, and wiped from there onto the couch cushions. Jensen snorted, once he'd caught his breath, and pulled back slightly to stare down at the drying stain.

"Guess you're getting rid of it now," he said.

Jared snorted as well and then tugged Jensen back to him. "Come here, you're comfy."

That made Jensen climb all the way off him, though, and head into the kitchen. "You're stoned," he called, and then ran the sink for a moment. "I'm impressed you got it up at all, with the beer on top of the meds."

"I didn't have very much of either," Jared answered. He tucked his dick back into his underwear and, when Jensen tossed him a wet paper towel, wiped down his stomach. "We should still get food," he said, and closed his eyes as Jensen kept moving around the apartment, making noise in various places.

He woke up when someone knocked on the door, and kept himself alert for long enough to listen to Jensen paying the pizza guy. He felt the couch dip a while after that, and although it smelled like pizza, he didn't wake up all the way until Jensen hauled him to his feet.

"You need to get in bed," he said, "and also to tell me where you keep your dog food."

Jared let Jensen steer him into his bedroom, the only other actual room in the place, and bully him out of his pants. "In the pantry. But they eat in the morning, not at night, so." He shrugged and didn't finish.

Jensen got him into bed as well, and pulled the sheets up over him, and disappeared into the tiny bathroom off one wall to keep making noise. Jared heard someone's collar jingle as one of the dogs nosed into his room, and he patted the mattress to let them hop up and curl around his feet.

It was nice, with the dog at the foot of the bed, and Jared turned onto his side to burrow into something warm on the other side of the mattress as well. He spared a moment to wish that Jensen had stayed, and then he was asleep.

.

Sunlight came in through his window the next time he woke up. His room smelled more like dog than usual, and as Jared pushed himself upright, he saw the coating of blond hairs at the end of the bed and remembered he'd let them sleep with him the night before.

He remembered the rest of the night when he saw the crumpled pillow on the other side of the bed, even though he thought Jensen hadn't come to bed with him — the sex, the job, the way Jensen had pressed his fingers so carefully to Jared's skin as he wiped him clean.

Jared didn't look in the mirror as he brushed his teeth. He shouldn't have kissed Jensen; the last thing they needed was to fuck up their working relationship now that they were finally in a position to be working good gigs again. He couldn't forget the look in Jensen's eyes after he'd kissed him, though, or the satisfyingly solid weight of Jensen in his lap, and he couldn't make himself really regret it.

He hoped Jensen had at least left him some pizza, and so he stopped in his bedroom doorway and stared when he found Jensen stretched out over his love seat, typing on Jared's laptop and wearing a pair of his lounge pants. Jensen blushed a little but he kept working, and he didn't look up until Jared just kept standing there for a few moments.

"What," he said.

"You're still here," Jared said, and then headed into the kitchen to cover up how stupid actually having said that made him feel. He heard Jensen snort behind him but tried to ignore it. The box of pizza was still on the dining room table, on top of Jared's paperwork for yesterday's job, and he took a few cold slices back to the living room.

Jensen was looking at a bed online, a huge California king covered in more pillows than Jared thought was really necessary for just sleeping on. He raised an eyebrow at Jensen when he looked over, and Jensen just shrugged and leaned in to kiss him.

"I was rethinking my first purchase," he said.

Jared leaned forward to check the price tag on the furniture on screen and whistled. "I think that's bigger than your entire apartment."

"Not bigger than yours, though." Jensen clicked on a different view of the bed and nodded. "You know, if that offer to stay with you still stands."

Jared at him for a moment. Jensen had a tiny, scabbed-over cut on one eyebrow, which Jared hadn't noticed it until just now. He looked back at the bed and figured it was big enough to hold both of them easily — plus the dogs, plus Jensen's herd of new laptops, plus some physical blue prints, plus pizza boxes and too many pillows and whatever else was near by.

"It stands," he said. Jensen grinned after a moment, like he was fighting it at first, and then added the bed to his cart.


End file.
